Yep. I do it every time. Dead easy and super reliable. A bottle of iodine is a couple of quid and you only need a drop. If there is any blue/ black keep mashing and test again after 15 minutes. Nothing to lose.
I love the smell of mashing in the morning.
It depends on what you like. I prefer my beer to be on the flatter side so 80 or 90 would be ok. For different styles or tastes you can add more. I would start with 100 and see how it goes. Beware of adding too much though. Exploding bottles are dangerous and waste good beer!
I love the smell...
As long as the bottles aren't heavily soiled the dishwasher seems to work fine. I do rinse with starsan but probably don't need to. Dishwasher does save a truckload of time so give it a try.
I love the smell of mashing in the morning.
Fully agree with rinsing, but stick them in the dishwasher before filling. Our dishwasher takes enough bottles for a full brew and as long as you follow the 'rinse them after use ' they will be sterile and rinsed from the dishwasher. Really easy.
I love the smell of mashing in the morning.
I would keep the first one very simple. I'd probably do a mash with 6 kg of MO then boil with 25g amarillo, then add 70 g Amarillo for the last 10 minutes of the boil. Ferment with us05. Should come out pretty well, and not too complicated. Also works well bottled or keg. Good luck.
I love...
Is the 23l before you account for grain absorption and evaporation during the boil? I lose approximately 3 or 4 litres during the boil, and the grain will absorb (from memory) around 600ml per kg.
I love the smell of mashing in the morning.
If you have a pressure relief valve on the barrel, it'll be fine. If not you could fit a motorcycle Schrader valve on the lid and just keep it below say 10 psi (check with a normal tyre pressure gauge). Also check that it tastes ok before going to too much trouble. Good luck.
I love the smell...
Sanitation is not a problem as you will be doing the boil in the pot, so it will be sanitary. You I'll still have to get it clean, and you are adding to the weight. That may be ok.
I love the smell of mashing in the morning.